High School

Does becoming a makeup artist sound interesting to you? If so,
there are a number of classes you can take in high school to help
prepare for this profession. Take all the art classes you can,
including art history if this is offered at your school.
Photography courses will help you understand the use of light and
shadow. Courses in illustration, painting, and drawing will help
you to develop the skills you'll need for illustrating proposed
makeup effects. Learning about sculpting is important, as creating
special makeup effects with rubber, prosthetics, and glue is often
much like sculpting from clay. Other helpful classes for you to
take are anatomy and chemistry. Anatomy will give you an
understanding of the human body, and chemistry will give you
insight into the products you will be using. If your school offers
drama classes, be sure to take these. In drama class you will gain
an understanding of all the different elements-such as scripts,
actors, and location-needed for a production. Computer classes will
give you exposure to this technology, which you may use in the
future to design projects. Try experimenting with makeup and
special effects on your own. Take photographs of your efforts in
order to build a portfolio of your work. Finally, because this work
is typically done on a freelance basis and you will need to manage
your business accounts, it will be helpful for you to take math,
business, and accounting classes.

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